Snake Handlers [Kindle Edition]

Snake Handlers is a fast-paced thriller, totally galvanizing in its scope, premise and unmistakable ring of authenticity. Every page hits the bulls-eye with a wallop you can feel.

Snake Handlers, by David Alexander, has got "superthriller" status in my opinion. If you want a thriller with all the bells and whistles and no frills and fluff, then this is the thriller you want to wrap your hands around without further delay.

The storyline begins with a bang that's so loud they can practically hear it in the capital of the rogue state that's bent on using its illegal array of advanced weapons of mass destruction to make them regional hegemons.

And they can do it too. You get the chilling sense that they'll pull it off if they're not stopped.

Fortunately their plans are seriously challenged by both United States conventional and special forces tasked by the Pentagon to stop the weapons development program cold and before it can literally and figuratively reach critical mass.

The stoppers are a team of the most exceptional capable special forces personnel ever assembled to take on a covert mission by the Department of Defense. This team, called the Snake Handlers, from which the title is taken, is called what it's called because it's specially trained and equipped to locate and neutralize or destroy weapons of mass destruction in whatever forms they may take. These are figurative "snakes" that the team knows how to handle. And handle their deadly quarry they certainly can do.

As might be expected from a superthriller with global reach such as Snake Handlers is, this action fest has its share of sub-plots that collectively add a huge amount of depth to the narrative, but from what I've read (I've read the entire thriller but have read most of the opening chapters one more time because I found them particularly enjoyable) the plotting gives Snake Handlers a lot of richness but doesn't get in the way of the powerful and brisk action scenes, punchy dialog or very, very clever plotting and characterization.

Snake Handlers is a thriller that's earned this thriller junkie's total and unconditional seal of approval!

It's not that often that you find a thriller that delivers and doesn't wimp out in the home stretch. Snake Handlers is one of those efforts that keeps batting a thousand. I'm of the opinion that an action thriller should be written from the standpoint of the author setting out to write a great book, period. No matter what the book's subject, or whether it's fiction or fact, that should be a writer's first goal. Now, with a lot of other books, I haven't gotten that impression. But I've gotten it with Snake Handlers and with virtually everything else I've read under this author's byline. That's what keeps me returning for more. Snake Handlers didn't disappoint, and that in itself would have been enough. Beyond that it kept gathering steam. That's an accomplishment, I can assure you.